More emergency funds urgently needed as Typhoon Durian hits Vietnam
Source: CARE International - UK
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CARE distributing emergency goods to the hardest-hit
CARE International is calling for the international community to release substantial funds for the Typhoon Durian emergency response. CARE is using $70,000 from its emergency response fund for urgent aid distributions to some of the 1.6 million people affected in the Philippines and is preparing a response in Vietnam where more than 120,000 homes have been destroyed.
Many areas of the Philippines are still completely inaccessible. Nearly 85,000 people are currently in emergency evacuation centres. Besides loss of life and the total destruction of nearly 85,000 houses, the typhoon has also had a disastrous impact on people's livelihoods. An estimated 90 percent of the crops on Catanduanes in the Philippines were destroyed and Vietnam has suffered extensive crop and fishing boat damage.
"The Philippines have been hit repeatedly by typhoons in the last few months," says CARE's regional emergency coordinator, Wayne Ulrich," but this has been fiercest so far."
CARE is working in the most affected areas of the Philippines with other international and local NGOs distributing relief items. Student volunteers in Camarines Sur are packing and organizing newly arrived relief items for CARE's distributions. Meanwhile CARE staff are assessing remote and hard-to-reach coastal and island communities to ensure that all affected communities receive help.
Once the immediate disaster relief is complete, CARE will shift its focus on helping people to rebuild their livelihoods and to improve disaster preparedness.
About CARE International: CARE International is one of the world's leading aid agencies, working in 70 countries to tackle long-term causes of poverty and responding to emergencies.
For more information, contact:
Amber Meikle, London, 0207 934 9348, meikle@careinternational.org
William Dowell, Geneva, +41 79 590 30 47 or email dowell@careinternational.org
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